Baseball: John Zeiter

That's not to say the St. Mary's baseball coach doesn't appreciate how John Zeiter helped the Rams' success this year.

It just means, as an individual, Pijl thinks the world of his Dartmouth-bound pitcher.

"Whether you are a great player is secondary to me," Pijl said. "I'm more concerned with what kind of person you are. And John is a great kid."

Pijl acknowledges Zeiter did not pitch as much as the senior anticipated. That did not, however, minimize the contributions he made to a team that won the Tri-City Athletic League and advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals as a senior and the section finals as a junior.

Zeiter finished with 131/3 innings pitched and a 3.68 ERA in his final season.

"He didn't pitch as many innings as he would have liked, but he handled it well," Pijl said. "He never once complained. He's a great teammate, a very classy kid."

Of course Zeiter didn't just leave his mark on the diamond.

Graduating with a 4.36 grade-point average, he took a leadership role in a number of extracurricular programs.

However, he considers his time playing baseball for the Rams his most cherished.

"It's been rewarding being able to play well against some of the top programs around Northern California," he said.

"We beat De La Salle this year. That was a big deal. We beat Jesuit. I started two playoff games last year as a junior. ... Those are the things I'll remember."